AUGUSTA — Appropriately enough, after a weekend of tricky prognostication outdoors, there weren’t many forecasts for Monday morning inside Augusta Civic Center that foretold Lewiston hitting 10 3-pointers and winning by 38.

Moving onto the next round? Sure, No. 4 Lewiston is capable of running the table in Class A East with its talent and experience. But the storm-delayed 89-51 rout of No. 5 Cony was everything the teams’ KVAC regular-season meeting wasn’t, and what four-versus-five quarterfinals usually aren’t.

“We didn’t want to overlook it,” Lewiston senior guard Ace Curry. “We knew last time we played them it came down to two points. They’re a good team. They made it here.”

Perhaps everyone looked past Lewiston’s unsung ability to hit the 3-pointer. Ryan Bell knocked down five and led the Blue Devils with a game-high 16 points. Abdinassir Issack drained three more in limited time.

Lewiston (12-7) landed 10 from beyond the arc, beat Cony (11-8) for the third time, and stormed into an 8:30 p.m Wednesday semifinal against top seed and age-old rival Edward Little.

“That’s not usually what we do, so it was a bonus day,” Lewiston coach Tim Farrar said. “I did not expect this at all. Both regular-season games came down to the wire. We got the one early run and made our foul shots, too. We couldn’t have shot any better.”

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With star forward Isaiah Harris and center Trever Irish limited to four total points by foul trouble in the first half, the battle-tested backcourt of Curry and Bell shone brightly.

Curry collected all 13 of his points in the first half, hitting 8-of-8 from the free-throw line. Lewiston sank its first 15 freebies without a miss. Bell sank three treys in the half, the last one in the middle of a 9-0 run that gave Lewiston a 32-20 lead with 4:19 left.

“Our teammates were driving it in and kicking it out,” Bell said. “That’s what we’re about, passing the ball well. We all know each other well. They kicked it out, and I made shots.”

Lewiston’s bench played its best game of the year in a big spot.

Quintarian Brown, Kevin Dillingham, Tylon Myers and Issack combined for 14 points in the first half. Dillingham hauled down a game-high 10 rebounds for the Devils, who owned a 50-28 edge on the glass.

Tykeem Gaines, Harris and Issack collaborated for the final eight points and sent Lewiston into the locker room with a 47-28 advantage.

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“We have a few weapons,” Curry said. “We knew we could shoot the ball. We just finally shot it in a game.”

Much more noted for its ability to hit from outside, and one of the few teams in the tournament fully comfortable with playing at Lewiston’s preferred, frenetic pace, Cony stayed in the deep freeze.

The Rams hit only two field goals in the second period and one in the third. Cony was 12-for-48 overall.

Liam Stokes and T.J. Cusick led the Rams with 12 points apiece.

“We let them come to us, let them shoot,” Curry, who hit a game-winner in the closing seconds to win a game at Cony in January, said. “They live by the three and die by the three, as you can see.”

Irish scored 10 of his 14 points in the fourth quarter for Lewiston, which advanced to the semifinals for the second time in three years.

“Winning on this floor is special,” Farrar said. “All year, whenever I talk to them if something’s going wrong or whatever, I tell them this is what it’s about. Being in that winning locker room after (a tournament) game is the best place on earth.”

koakes@sunjournal.com


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